Shoe and outsole therefor



April 19, 1938. A, Ry 2,114,700

SHOE AND OUTSOLE THEREFOR Filed Jan. 12, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MWPQW B MW,

April 19, 1938. A. w .BRADBURY 2,114,700

SHOE AND OUTSOLE THEREFOR Filed Jan. 12, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedApr. 19, 1938 PATENT OFFICE SHOE AND OUTSOLE THEREFOR Albert WilsonBradbury, Cliftondale, Mass, as-

signor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., acorporation of New Jersey Application January 12, 1937, Serial No.120,260

3 Claims.

This invention relates to shoes and the manufacture thereof and isillustrated herein with reference to shoes having their outsolesattached by cement.

In the manufacture of shoes having outsoles which extend laterallybeyond the shoe uppers so that the margins of the inner or fleshsurfaces of the outsoles are visible, it is customary to cover theseextending marginal portions with a piece of leather or similar materialcalled a welt to improve the appearance of the shoe even though the weltdoes not perform the usual function of holding the outsole on the shoeas in a Goodyear welt shoe. This is especially true in juvenile shoes ofthe so-called stitchdown type and in shoes of the heavy sole varietysuch, for example, as mens and boys shoes and various kinds of workshoes having outsoles attached by nails or by through and throughstitches.

In shoes of this type it has been impracticable 0 flesh'surface of theoutsole where the fibers of the leather are loose and relatively weakand consequently are notadapted to strengthen the attachment of the soleto the shoe bottom- However, the light weight soles usually attached bycement to womens shoes present no difiiculty in this respect becausetheir extreme flexibility permits the soles to bend readily with theshoes and thus relieves the greater part of the strain tending to pullthe outsoles away from the shoe bottoms. In a shoe having a relativelyheavy outsole which is often stiff and inflexible the loose fibers onthe flesh side of the outsole do not provide 'a sufiiciently firm basefor cement to insure that the attachment of the outsole by cement alonewould be permanent.

Objects of the present invention are to provide an improved method ofmaking shoes having cement attached outsoles in the practice of whichthe difficulties referred to above are eliminated, to provide animproved shoe, and to provide an improved outsole adapted for attachmentto a shoe by cement.

With these objects in .view the invention in one aspect comprisessecuring together two leather sole members flesh side to flesh side,

thereby producing a laminated outsole member or unit having inner andouter layers the smooth grain surfaces of which are exposed. The grainsurface of the inner layer is then removed over a portion spacedinwardly from the edge face of the outsole member, thereby exposing aportion of the material of said inner layer adjacent to its grain sideor face for receiving cement, this material having relatively compactfibers adapted to form a firm base for receiving cement. As illustratedherein, the grain surface is removed by forming a shallow groove aroundthe marginal portion of the inner face of said inner layer and, sincethis" groove is spaced inwardly from the edge of the outsole member, apredetermined strip of the grain surface is left at the marginal portionof this inner face to provide a smooth surface on the upper or exposedside of the extension of the outsole or, in other words, on that portionwhich projects laterally beyond the shoe upper. I

In its article aspects the invention provides an improved shoe of thetype which has an extension on its outsole, said shoe having its outsolepermanently attached by cement and having no welt or other membercovering the upper side of the sole extension. The invention alsoprovides an improvedleather outsole member of substantial thicknesshaving a grain surface on its outer or tread face and a marginal portionhaving a smooth grain surface on its upper or exposed face to provide asole extension, said outsole also having a relatively shallow groovespaced a predetermined distance inwardly from its marginal portionthereby exposing the compact fibers of the sole adjacent to the grainsurface for receiving cement whereby the outsole may be permanentlyattached to a shoe.

With the above and other objects and aspects in view the invention willnow be described in connection with the accompanying drawings and willthereafter be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a three-quarter length leather outsolemember skived to a thin edge at its rearward end, the grain surface ofthe outsole member being uppermost;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 1 of the outsole memberwith a shallow groove formed in its upper or grain surface, the groovebeing spaced inwardly from the edge face of the outsole member;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the outsole member after the material inthe groove has been roughened;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a full-length leather outsole havingcement applied to the marginal portion of its inner or flesh face;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the two outsole members securedtogether, flesh side to flesh side, to form a complete outsole member orunit, a portion of the forepart of the unit being broken away;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the complete outsole member after it hasbeen molded to the shape of a last bottom; and

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the outsole member of Fig. 6being pressed against a lasted shoe in a sole attaching press.

In practicing the method of the present invention, a leatherl outsolemember I is provided having an inner grain surface l2 and an outer fleshsurface M, the outsole member preferably being a three-quarter lengthsole member and being skived at its rear portion, as shown in Fig. 1, toa relatively thin edge H5. The outsole member 10 is preferably composedof fairly high-grade sole leather and may be about six or seven ironsthick.

The inner grain surface [2 of the outsole member I 0 is removed at apredetermined portion thereof by forming in said surface a relativelywide shallow groove l8 which is spaced inwardly from the edge face ofthe outsole a predetermined distance, for example, a quarter of an inch,thereby leaving a marginal area or strip 20 of sole material whichretains the grain surface. The groove may be from three-quarters toseveneighths of an inch wide and may extend around the entire marginalportion of the outsole member, as shown in Fig. 2. The groove 18 ispreferably only of sufficient depth to remove the smooth grain of theleather and thereby to expose the somewhat coarser material just belowthe grain surface which is more suitable than the latter for receivingcement but which, nevertheless, has fibers which are much more compactor firm in structure than the relatively loose fibers of the materialadjacent to the flesh face of the outsole member. The grooving operationmay be performed manually with a suitable cutting tool but it ispreferably performed by machine in order to obtain a groove of uniformdepth around the entire sole member and also to insure that the outeredge of the groove will be spaced a proper distance inwardly from theedge face of the sole member. A machine which may be conveniently usedfor performing this operation is that of the general type disclosed inUnited States Letters Patent No. 1,115,046, granted October 27, 1914 inthe name of Henry W. Winters, this machine, however, being provided witha properly shaped grooving knife or tool for cutting the groove l8.

After the groove l8 has been cut in the outsole member ID, the materialin the groove is roughed, as shown in Fig.3, to render it more suitablefor receiving cement. The roughening operation may be performed by handwith a suitable rasping tool or it may be performed with the aid of amachine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.1,994,469, granted March 19, 1935, on an application filed in the nameof George Goddu, this machine being provided with a roughening tool orbrush which is of such a size that the roughening operation will beconfined to the sole material located within the groove IS. Theroughened material in the groove may next be coated with a suitablecement such, for example, as pyroxylin cement and the opposite or fleshface M of the outsole member 10 may also be coated at least at itsmarginal portion with pyroxylin cement, the cement being allowed to dryafter it has been applied.

A full-length leather outsole member 22 (Fig. 4) is now provided havingan inner or flesh face 24 and an outer face having a grain surface 28thereon, the periphery of the outsole member 22 forwardly of its heelportion conforming in outline to the outsole member I0. The marginalportion of the inner or flesh side 24 of the outsole member 22 is nowcoated with cement 28 such as pyroxylin which is allowed to dry. Thecement on the outer or flesh face M of the outsole member I 0 and on theflesh face 24 of the outsole member 22 is next activated by a suitablesolvent such as acetone and the two sole members are placed together,flesh face against flesh face, and held in this position under pressurewhile the cement is setting, thereby producing a two-ply laminatedoutsole member or unit 30 composed of leather inner and outer layershaving their flesh sides in face-to-face relation with each other andtheir grain surfaces exposed. Fig. illustrates the outsole member 30after the layers I0 and 22 have been secured together in the mannerdescribed.

The outsole member 30 is next shaped or molded to conform substantiallyto the shape of a last bottom to facilitate its attachment to a shoe.The molding operation may be performed in any suitable or convenientmanner and a machine which may advantageously be used for this purposeis one of the general type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.1,271,315, granted July 2, 1918, on an application filed in the name ofJohn J, Heys. The completed outsole unit 30 is now ready to beattachedto a shoe bottom.

A shoe upper 32 (Fig. '7) is assembled with an insole 34on a last 36 inthe customary way and the upper is secured in lasted relation to theinsole in any usual or convenient manner. As disclosed herein, the upperis wiped over the insole 34 and secured in lasted relation thereto bycurved staples 38. If desired, however, the upper may be lasted to theinsole by cement, or by tacks or stitches. The excess portions of themargin of the upper are then trimmed in the usual manner and a thinlayer of filling material 40 is placed in the space between the trimmededges of the upper.

The cement in the groove I8 on the grain surface of the inner layer Inof the outsole member 30 is now activated by a solvent and the outsolemember is positioned on the lasted shoe bottom. The shoe and sole maythen be placed in a cement sole-attaching press 42 of any usualconstruction provided with a. pressure-applying pad 44 of rubber orsimilar material, herein illustrated as a hollow chamber or bag of thetype disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,063,041granted December 8, 1936 in the name of L. G. Knowles and containingfluid 46, the forepart of the pad being provided -with resilient membersfor aiding in distributing the pressure over the full area of the soleespecially at the marginal portions. A machine which may be convenientlyused for attaching the outsole 30 to the shoe is one of the typedisclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,047,185, granted July14, 1936 on an application filed in the name of Milton H. Ballard et al.The sole and shoe are maintained under pressure until the cement betweenthe. upper and the outsole member 30 has thoroughly set, after which theshoe with its attached outsole is removed from the press' and the last36 is withdrawn from the shoe. The shoe is now complete except for theattachment of the heel and the customary finishing operations which maybe performed in the usual manner.

The outer or tread surface 26 of the outsole 30 will have a grainsurface thereon which may be finished by the usual buffing, staining andpolishing operations. The inner surface 12 of the outsole member willhave a roughed portion at its marginal area underlying and engaging theoverlasted marginal portion of the upper 32 and permanently securedthereto by a strong cement bond. The portion of this inner surface I2which extends laterally beyond the shoe upper will have a smooth grainsurface thereon which may be stitch-indented or otherwise treated in thesame manner as the welt on a welt shoe to improve the appearance of thesole extension. An outsole made in accordance with the presentinvention, therefore, obviates the use of a welt on the upper or exposedface of the outsole extension to provide a finished surface thereon inthose shoes in which a welt is not used for effecting the attachment ofthe outsole. Since the laminated outsole 30 is thirteen or fourteenirons thick, it is sufficiently durable to last throughoutout the lifeof the shoe. The attachment of the outsole member 30 t the shoe bottomby cement applied to the relatively compact fibers of the leather justbelow the grain surface of the inner layer l0 renders the attachmentmuch stronger than in shoes of the singlesole type in which the cementis applied to the inner or flesh face of the outsole because the fiberson this surface are relatively loose and yieldable as compared withthose just below the grain surface of the leather. Consequently, theattachment of the outsole to the shoe bottom is of such strength andpermanency that the outsole will have no tendency to separate from theshoe upper during the wear of the shoe notwithstanding the fact that thetwo-ply outsole may be considerably thicker and heavier than outsolesusually attached by cement.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as n w and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a shoe, an insole, an upper and a relatively heavy, inflexibleoutsole attached to the shoe bottom by cement alone, said outsolecomprising inner and outer layers of leather the flesh sur faces ofwhich are face to face so that the grain surfaces of said layers formrespectively the inner and outer surfaces of the outsole, said upperbeing located in a groove of uniform depth formed in the grain surfaceof said inner layer, said groove being only of sufilcient depth toremove the smooth grain surface from the inner surface of said innerlayer and thereby expose the strongest fibers of said layer adjacent tosaid grain surface, thereby causing the cement between the upper andsaid inner layer to contact said strongest fibers and insure a permanentcement attachment of the heavy outsole to the shoe bottom.

2. In a shoe, an insole, an upper and a relatively heavy outsole oflaminated formation premolded to the shape of the shoe bottom, saidoutsole being attached to the shoe upper by cement alone and comprisinginner and outer layers of leather cemented together flesh side to fleshside so that the grain surface of the outer layer forms the treadsurface of the outsole and the grain surface of the inner layer formsthe inner surface of the outsole and produces a finished grain surfaceon the portion of said inner surface that extends laterally beyond theshoe upper, said upper being cemented into a shallow groove on the innersurface of the outsole formed inwardly of the edge face thereof and of adepth that removes only the grain surface from said inner surface andthus exposes the toughest and most compact fibers of the inner layer ofthe outsole for receiving cement, thereby insuring that the heavyoutsole will remain permanently attached to the shoe upper by cementalone.

3. As an article of manufacture, an outsole adapted for attachment to ashoe bottom by cement alone comprising a laminated sole member ofsubstantial thickness and limited flexibility premolded to the shape ofa shoe bottom and. having two leather layers with their flesh surfacesface'to face thereby exposing their grain surfaces, the grain surface ofthe layer which is to engage the upper in a shoe being removed over apredetermined marginal area at its forepart and shank portions, saidarea being spaced inwardly from the edge face of the outsole apredetermined distance, thereby exposing the strongest fibers of saidlayer for receiving cement for attaching the outsole permanently to theshoe bottom and leaving a smooth grain surface at the edge portion ofthe inner surface of said layer to provide a suitable finished surfaceon that portion of the outsole which extends laterally beyond the upperin the shoe.

ALBERT WILSON BRADBURY.

